Aroma ~ A Percabeth Story (ongoing): Book 3 - Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Chapter One ~ PERCY

Chapter One

PERCY

"So... you're a professor?"

Percy looked up from his plate. "Well... in a way, I suppose."

"But you're a teacher, yes?"

"Yes, I have been for seventeen years now - started when I was seventeen," Percy said with his best, most dazzling smile. Alyssa, his date, barely reacted. "Teaching's not so bad," he continued. "I actually met my, er, former wife at the camp I now teach at."

Alyssa stared at him. "You were married?"

"Well, yes - just the once, of course," Percy said with a nervous laugh. The whole 'former wife' thing threw a lot of people. "We divorced six years ago, when we were twenty-eight."

"Why?" Alyssa probed.

"We married too young," Percy said, shoving a forkful of beef into his mouth. "Mmm. This is delicious, I must say. It's a nice restaurant, don't you think?"

"Too young?"

"Alyssa, can we discuss something -"

"How old were you?"

Percy sighed. "Same year I started teaching - when I was seventeen. We married at the camp, big reception with quite a lot of the camp's kids. My wife and I were too young. We had eleven years, good years, but we grew tired. It was time to let go."

"No kiddies?" Alyssa asked, although the way she said 'kiddies' made it sound as if she was talking about rats.

"I always wanted them," Percy admitted. "Still do - I'm only thirty-four, it's not too late. But Annabeth - my wife - was very career-driven. Not that that's a bad thing, I'm not saying that..."

"You wanted children, she didn't," Alyssa said with a bored tone. "So how much money do you earn as a teacher?"

"Huh?"

---

Percy unlocked the door and threw his keys into the bowl he kept near the sofa. He'd bundled Alyssa into a taxi, promised to call her, deleted her number from his phone and driven home in defeat. This was his seventh date in three months, all of which had been unsuccessful.

There was the first one, with Simone - nice woman, but had six kids and was going through a messy divorce, which was too painful a reminder for Percy. Then Anita, who was funny and pretty but admitted to being arrested for drink driving thirty-five times in her life on her first date with Percy. There was Tammy, who he had two dates with, and was normal up until she confessed to owning eleven cats and was purchasing a twelfth for nearly forty grand. After that there was Lucinda, a really funny lovely woman who then decided she was going to reunite with her ex partner... who was a woman. And finally, just before Alyssa, there was Cathryn - a stunningly gorgeous catalogue model, who had the personality of a wet dishcloth.

And now there was Alyssa, the easily-bored gold-digger. 

He sighed and sat down at his computer, logged into DemiNet (the social networking site just for demigods) and searched: Annabeth Chase. It had been nearly four years since he'd last spoken to his ex-wife, and it hadn't gone well.

Annabeth's profile popped up - she looked stunning in her picture, her blonde hair loose and straight down her shoulders, whilst wearing a white mini dress. She was smiling whilst sipping on a bottle of... fizzy water.

"Living life to the fullest, darling," Percy chuckled. He then groaned and thudded against his chair as he read her About box.

Engaged to Andrew Weekends.

Percy had known she was in a relationship - that's why they had fallen out - with the guy (who was an architect at her firm, Chase Contracts) but he hadn't realised it was so... serious. He quickly closed the window, shut the computer down and moaned in frustration.

That was his wife, there - the wife he still loved very much, the wife he was struggling to move on from six years after the divorce. Not one of those women were perfect, but he could have stuck with them (well, maybe not Lucinda). Except none of them matched up to Annabeth. His Annabeth.

But Percy knew that reconciling with Annabeth would be toxic. She had always been out of his league, in the looks and brains department, but now she was some millionaire architect with her own firm and a high wage coming in from all angles, including the prestigious gods who let her make changes to their city whenever she wanted to. Percy lived in a small flat just five minutes from Camp Half-Blood, where he worked, and he had a second paying job as a taxi driver on weekends.

And plus, Annabeth didn't want children. She liked kids, but they weren't in her career plan. Not like they were to Percy. Percy had always imagined having children with Annabeth - they'd have a boy and a girl, twins maybe, one with the hair of Percy and the eyes of Annabeth, and the other with the hair of Annabeth and the eyes of Percy. But Annabeth had made it clear from the start that she didn't much want children - "Maybe one day," she always said, yet Percy knew it was just to keep him sweet.

With a heavy heart, he had been the one to bring up the suggestion of taking a break.

Annabeth had decided to end the marriage instead.

Percy realised there were tears sliding down his cheeks. He wiped them away and sighed. He knew he'd have to talk to her sometime - congratulate her. Occasionally they saw each other from across the camp, but they never spoke to each other. Maybe now was the time to reach out and become friends again.

But would that be too painful?

Sighing, Percy got up from his seat and headed to bed.

-----

This is short but this made me sad - it's Percy going on another unsuccessful date, getting back home like he does every time... and finding out that the woman he still adores to pieces is engaged to another man. We'll find out exactly why Percy fell out with Annabeth over Andrew soon, I hope.

And we'll meet Andrew in the next chapter.

Enjoy, recommend, comment, anything please! I love feedback and criticism, positive or negative, because it makes me a much better writer. So send in your thoughts, please!

~ Lauren xx